Maxwell Bogue Tote

The design for my toolbox was inspired by the example design, but I wanted to make a few improvements. The most major improvement I was looking at was the handle. I don't find straight handles comfortable, so I decided to cut out a curved handle that fits my hand. This is shown in picture 1. I also decided to use a larger round bit to route the edge of the handle for extra comfort. The other improvements I made were decreasing the size of the supports for easier access to the box (picture 2) and changing the order of the panels around to improve ease of assembly (picture 3).

The build process started with using the miter saw to cut each panel to length. I designed the box so that each panel only needed to be cut along the length axis, meaning only one miter saw cut per panel. I then cut the shaped pieces, the handle and the supports, using a jigsaw. Once I had cut one support with the jigsaw, I could do a rough cut on the other and route it down to match. As soon as I had the pieces all in the shape I wanted them, I could route the edges to make them smooth. The only thing left was to screw them together.

My mistakes in this project include going too slow with the router, resulting in burns on some routed edges, mis-measuring holes for screws and drilling in the wrong places, and drilling too deep and splitting the plywood.